Ephesians 4:1-6 The title of today’s sermon is
“Maintain the Unity of the Spirit”—words taken directly from our text and
inspired by the Holy Spirit. They
capture the theme of what God is calling us to believe and do in these
verses.
But a simpler way
to express the same thought is this:
God’s guidance on how to “get along” with our fellow Christians.
These words are
not quite as holy sounding as the title from God’s Word, they are a little bit
blunt, and maybe they take us aback. We hate
to think that Christians would ever be at odds with one another or that there
would ever be any conflict between Christians.
“How can I not get along with fellow believers—they believe in Jesus too?!”
But what about
that Christian you are married to—are you always on the same page with your
spouse?
What about those
Christians who are your children or your parents—do you always see
eye-to-eye?
What about those
Christians sitting here in the Lord’s house with you today—do they never rub
you the wrong way?
The
Spirit-inspired words that we have before us today from St. Paul’s letter to
the Ephesians gives us down-to-earth, practical advice on how to get along with
fellow Christians in our marriage, home, and congregation.
These words tell
us that: 1. We are called to unity and
peace-filled relationships with fellow believers—2. They tell us how peace and unity is
accomplished through Christ-like lives—3.
and they tell that unified and peace-filled relationships with fellow
Christians are a reflection of the deepest
truths of the Gospel. St. Paul wrote:
I therefore, a
prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which
you have been called,
The
reason for many of the struggles we have in our Christian lives (including
getting along with our fellow Christians in our marriages, homes, and
congregation) is that we do not give sufficient attention and importance to our
identity in Christ—what Paul labels our “calling”. And so, what is our Christian identity or
calling?
By virtue of our
baptism into Christ we are God’s children: we have died with Christ and been raised with
Christ—we have been reconciled to our heavenly Father and filled with the
Spirit-- and are called to walk in newness of life—in other words: to live out that identity by taking up our cross
and walking in Jesus’ footsteps of love and sacrifice for others as his
disciples.
Children of God
and disciples of Christ—this is who we are—not who we would like to be—not what
we have to strive to be—this is who we are.
And our lives—what St. Paul
calls our “walk” should correspond to that identity and calling. But that’s not always the case, is it?
There have been
times over the course of my ministry when I have been asked to mediate a conflict
between two Christians and when all else fails I will tell them: “Let’s just pretend for the sake of argument
that we are Christians, what would a follower of Jesus do and say in this
situation?”
And that always
gets their attention. “I don’t have to
pretend I am a Christian! I am a
Christian!” “Wonderful!” I say, “How then should a child of God and
disciple of Christ act in this situation”?
“Oh”!
When we get caught
up in conflict with another Christian—whether in our family or marriage or
congregation—often times it’s because we have forgotten the high calling of
being children of God and disciples of Christ.
The content of that
calling is Jesus and it is his life that is to be shown in our lives—in other
words, that we are to live, as the Bible says, in all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another
in love just like Jesus did.
Now,
I want you to think about the last conflict you had with a fellow Christian—the
last argument or disagreement—the last time there were hard feelings between
you and a fellow believer-- whether in your marriage or family of
congregation.
Just for a moment
forget about that other person and what a stinker they are and ask
yourself: “Was I humble—did I count that person more important than
myself? Was I gentle- or was I ready to give as good as I got? Was I
willing to bear with that person—in other words, was I willing to put up with
that person -or was I quick feel put upon?”
If we are honest
with ourselves, we have to acknowledge that often times we don’t get along with
other Christians in our marriages, homes, and congregation—not because they are such stinkers—but because we are not the humble, gentle, patient,
loving children of God and disciples of Christ that we are called to be.
There is one more
piece to this when it comes to our attitude towards other Christians that especially
applies to times of conflict. The Bible
says that we are to be EAGER to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. And so let me ask you
a question: Are you EAGER
to live at peace with your fellow
Christians?
All of us are
tempted to say “yes” to that question. “Of
course, I am willing to live at peace with them!” But are we really?
You see, being
united to, and living at peace with, fellow Christians is much, much more than
avoiding those Christians that we don’t particularly like in our
congregation. It is much, much more than
the simmering “cease-fire” we reach with our children or parents. It is much, much more than the “let’s just
try to make the best of this” attitude that couples often fall into in their marriage.
That we are EAGER to maintain the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace means that no matter what that other person does, WE will
take the initiative when it comes to making things right. It means that no matter how that other person
acts, WE will be the ones who are humble and gentle and patient and willing to
go the extra mile.
And we will do
that because that is who we are as Christians and that kind of life shows the deep
truths of our Christian faith. The Bible
says that:
There is one body and
one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all
and through all and in all.
For all of us, there are times in our lives when we do not
live in peace and unity with our fellow Christians-times in our lives when we
are not the humble, gentle, peaceful, long-suffering people that we ought to
be. What a blessing to know that Jesus
Christ never failed to live this kind of life and through faith in him his holy
life is counted as our own!
The Bible says
that Jesus’ cross has removed the diving wall of hostility—not just between our
sin and God’s wrath—but has removed the dividing wall of hostility between us
and others—that he has done this to unite us to himself along with all those who
share the same faith and hope that we have in him.
Because of Jesus’ forgiving
life, death and resurrection: God is our
Father- and heaven is our home -and we are filled with the Spirit right
now. AND SO THEN…
We cannot say to
our fellow Christians “I want nothing to do with you”-- because they are
members along with us in the one body of Christ.
We cannot think
the worst of our fellow Christians-- because they are filled with the same Spirit
as we are and he is at work in their lives too.
We cannot withhold
our love from our fellow Christians-- because our heavenly Father loves them and
sent his Son to die for them too to make them members of his family just as we
are.
Whatever the
differences might be that we have with our fellow Christians, what are those
differences compared to what we share in common?
We confess the
same faith on Sunday mornings in the words of the creeds. We have been washed in the same baptismal water
and fed with the same body and blood.
And we confess the same Jesus to be our Savior and Lord.
When we elevate (what
are really minor) grievances and aggravations into divisions and bitterness, we
deny the profound gifts we share together with our fellow Christians.
Today we hear
God’s call to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”—in other
words, to “get along” with our fellow Christians. We are reminded that we are God’s children
and Jesus’ disciples and that because this is our identity we are called to
live Christ-like lives. And that as we
do so, we are showing the deep truths of our Christian faith: that God loves us and has brought us to
himself to live with him and our fellow Christians forever.
May our peaceful,
united lives with other believers always reflect this wonderful, saving Good
News! Amen.
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